Abstract
Cephalenchus driekieae n. sp. is described and illustrated based on its morphological, morphometric, and molecular characteristics. This new species is mainly characterized by its short stylet 11.5 to 13.0 μm, and 13.5 to 17.5 μm long pharyngeal overlap extending over the intestine. It could further be delimited by 451 to 526 μm long females with a prominently annulated cuticle, dorso-ventral amphidial openings as shown using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), four lines in the lateral field, anchor-shaped stylet knobs, empty spermatheca, elongate conoid tail with finely rounded tip and males absent. The shortest stylet and long pharyngeal overlap, distinguish this new species from previously described members and update the characteristics of the genus. With four lines in the lateral field, this new species was morphologically compared with four previously described species with this feature and another species with a short stylet. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using the partial small and large subunit ribosomal DNA gene (SSU and LSU rDNA D2-D3) sequences showed that it was clustered with other Cephalenchus spp. in both SSU and LSU trees, retaining the monophyly of the genus. This new species from South Africa updates the biogeography of the genus.
Highlights
The family Tylenchidae (Örley, 1880) is an abundant group of nematodes
20 species have been described under the genus Cephalenchus most of which were established based on traditional criteria (Geraert, 2008; Pereira et al, 2017)
During our recent surveys in South Africa, a population of Cephalenchus with a remarkably short stylet, long pharyngeal overlap, and four lines in the lateral field was recovered from the rhizosphere of grasses near a maize field, 20 km north of the town Lichtenburg (North-West Province, South Africa)
Summary
The family Tylenchidae (Örley, 1880) is an abundant group of nematodes. Its members are commonly found in vast ecological niches viz. soil, algae, fungi, and plant material (Panahandeh et al, 2018). In recent years, DNA-based techniques have been extensively used for taxonomic studies of tylenchids (Bert et al, 2010; Pereira and Baldwin, 2016; Pereira et al, 2017; Pedram et al, 2018; Panahandeh et al, 2018, 2019; Qing and Bert, 2019). 20 species have been described under the genus Cephalenchus most of which were established based on traditional criteria (Geraert, 2008; Pereira et al, 2017). The present study aims to characterize this species using both traditional and molecular techniques and discuss its phylogenetic affinities using SSU and LSU markers
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